Thursday, July 19, 2012

In 1826, Prince Pückler-Muskau divorced his beloved wife Lucie and set out for England in search of a rich bride. It was a divorce of convenience. He’d inherited both his father’s enormous debts and his father’s extravagant tastes, he’d lost his principality and all its revenues to the Kingdom of Prussia, and his father-in-law left his fortune to his mistresses. In desperate need of money, the prince traveled to England, where heiresses abounded.

Among the many prospective brides was a doctor’s daughter with a dowry of £50,000, a merchant’s daughter with a dowry of £40,000, an “ugly but well bred girl” with £100,000, and a jeweler’s daughter with £200,000.

He wrote frankly about these prospects to his true love, Lucie. He wrote about a great deal else, too, because Lucie had asked him “for small details of everyday life.”

In the end, he never did find a rich bride. In 1829 he went home to Muskau, still in dire financial straits. But Lucie had kept all his letters, and they decided to publish them (after some editing). In 1830 they appeared anonymously as Briefes Eines Verstorbenen—Letters from a Dead man. In 1832, Sarah Austin’s English translation, The Tour of a German Prince, was published.

Though some of his remarks about the British ticked them off—they called him “Pickling Mustard”—the books made him rich and famous. He got the money he needed, and was able to rejoin his one true love.

The prince, whom I encountered some years ago in Puckler’s Progress—an updated, delightful translation—sparked the idea for “Lord Lovedon’s Duel,” my contribution to the Royal Bridesmaids anthology.

I always feel a bit sorry for 19th-century European aristocrats: they've lost their "jobs" and are often in desperate financial straits. It sounds like this particularly one made the most of it however!

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A Polite Explanation

There’s a big difference in how we use history. But we’re equally nuts about it. To us, the everyday details of life in the past are things to talk about, ponder, make fun of -- much in the way normal people talk about their favorite reality show.

We talk about who’s wearing what and who’s sleeping with whom. We try to sort out rumor or myth from fact. We thought there must be at least three other people out there who think history’s fascinating and fun, too. This blog is for them.